


A Father's Heart

by Broken_Clover



Category: Sly Cooper (Video Games)
Genre: Delirium, Father Figures, Gen, Introspection, Missing Scene, Self-Indulgent, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28099599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Clover/pseuds/Broken_Clover
Summary: He couldn’t help but see Cooper as a child, especially now.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 16





	A Father's Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is something a little new for me! I've been a huge fan of the Sly series since I was really young, and I've entertained the thought of writing fics for the series for a long while too, though I've never really felt confident in it since I'm worried about doing poorly. But, I've decided to give it a go, so hopefully this turns out okay! I had a couple of story ideas and honestly this was just the first I managed to finish.
> 
> So, alright, I totally understand why they glossed over Sly getting the absolute stuffing beaten out of him in 3 for the sake of keeping the pace of the game, but I couldn't help but wish he'd been sidelined for more than two minutes after almost dying. This is mostly just self-indulgent wish-fulfillment and I can totally admit to that.
> 
> Also, *slams hands on table* TEAM DAD PANDA KING

The turtle had made it sound so easy and straightforward. They’d all had roles to play, but they were so simple, so basic, he had almost been disappointed by it. He should have known not to think such thoughts, to not draw the predatory nature of fate to where they had stood.

Everyone had been in confusion and disbelief when Bentley had returned. It had been mere minutes, how could he have gone in and left so quickly? It didn’t make any sense. At least, not until they noticed what had been draped over the lap of his wheelchair. Or, more specifically, _who._

Bentley was a genius, but he was no miracle worker, and the lack of supplies and instability of working on a boat made any kind of serious surgery out of the question. The best option they had was to re-set the bones, bandage over the wounds, and pray to whatever god there was that Cooper wouldn’t bleed out in the middle of the night.

So here sat the Panda King, in the bowels of their pilfered ship, wondering if he could have the audacity to feel sympathy for the poor raccoon.

It would have been the moral choice- but he and morality had a tenuous relationship. He had been driven to try and move heaven and earth to rescue his beloved child, yet with the same hands destroyed towns and carefully ripped apart a family to leave a child with nothing.

There was no innocence he could claim in the Cooper murders. He knew what he had signed up for. He knew what he was going to do. He had even been the one to notice the child in the closet, to speak up to that horrible metal abomination, and to have the absolute _gall_ to genuinely wonder why the child was to be left alive. The Panda King had not earned pity. He had not deserved mercy.

And yet, that was what he had been given. When he had fallen to Cooper in battle all those years later, he had been shocked to wake up again, beaten and bruised but hardly worse for wear. At first, he had feared that the same breed of cruelty he had inflicted on Cooper had been brought back to him, but Jing King had been left unharmed, entirely undisturbed and none the wiser of what had happened until he was dragged off to jail. He was being punished for his crimes, but so unbelievably mercifully. He had slaughtered his family in cold blood, and Cooper, in turn, had let him live.

That was what had ultimately sent him into his spiral of humiliation. Prison was a small feat to overcome. The constant, nagging question of _’why?’_ buzzing in the back of his skull seemed impossible to come to terms with. How had that raggedy, impudent child simply...left him there? Unconsumed by rage and the thought that he was standing down against one of the people who had taken everything away from them?

If that was the case, then...did that mean something was wrong with _him?_ He had thought any man would be driven to cruelty after experiencing his own childhood, but if Cooper could offer mercy after something so vile…

He was consumed by the thought. Regrettably, it estranged and alienated everything he had held dear. Sweet Jing had been so patient and calm upon realizing what he had been doing with his fireworks, yet his constant distraction was what led her to avoid him. That, in turn, only made his spiral worse, as he sought out something, anything, to give him the mental closure he couldn’t find.

Thankfully, a young, polite rooster had offered some assistance…

The Panda King snapped himself free from the memory as the boat rocked in the sea. The ship’s hatch creaked as someone came in or came out, but the noises were distant compared to the rumble of thunder and his own tumultuous thoughts.

Cooper had forgiven him. When he’d thought the thief had been impossibly merciful in letting him live on in misery, Cooper had extended a hand, to save Jing from Tsao’s hand and he from his own turmoil, forgiving him for his crimes. It hadn’t been immediate- he wouldn’t have deserved that, not from a thousand lifetimes of penance- but still, it was mercy. More than any man should have had to give.

Now, he was praying to the goddess of mercy that a life he had once tried to snuff out would be given respite.

The emptiness was making him uneasy. The world outside provided plenty of noise as a companion, but there was nobody but himself to speak to. He had made use of the storage room to craft and compile more fireworks for later use. The solitary loneliness had allowed him to focus on his work, but now he couldn’t focus at all.

Cooper, for the state he was in, was likely not interested in conversation even if he was capable. Still, the Panda King found himself drifting towards the ramshackle infirmary they had hastily set up. He just needed to see Cooper. To assure himself that he was alive, and that there was some chance he would be able to pull through. But again, he found himself thinking, wasn’t that hypocritical of him?

He chose not to dwell on it.

The room was low for a man of his stature, but he made due. Though to his surprise, he was not alone. Cooper was still sprawled out on the makeshift cot, but a wooden stool had been dragged over, with a small figure perched on it.

The Guru held a set of claws over a grimacing face, murmuring an incantation as a lavender aura gathered around them. Hypnosis and sleep were two different states, but they were close enough for the time being, without any painkillers stronger than ibuprofen to dull the agony of his wounds.

His words were interrupted as a massive shadow slid over him.

“Do not fear.” Said the Panda King. “I simply came to check.”

A cloud of gibberish filled his ears, echoing until it translated itself into something he could understand.

_“I could not retrieve the cane.”_ The koala’s voice was calm, yet sad as he turned to face him. _“I thought I could offer relief in another form.”_

He nodded. “I understand. I apologize for my interruption.”

_“No need. They are all worried about his state of health. This was not unexpected.”_

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted movement. It somehow managed to startle the Guru as well, not noticing until dark, fogged eyes cracked open even though they certainly should not have been, and a raspy voice crawled out from a dry throat.

“Da...ad?”

_“Dad?”_ The Guru asked, seeming for once genuinely puzzled. _“He is asking for his father?”_

“Dad...where-...dad…”

The Panda King was not unfamiliar with this. Once, when she had been young, Jing had been struck down with a fever that had rendered her delirious and confused. In the fog, she had spent two days asking for her mother. As a young father, and still embroiled in his rage, all it had done was frustrate him. It was a shameful memory, to think he had approached his daughter’s illness with anything other than gentleness and compassion. But now, perhaps, that memory could serve some use. The mind was a powerful but delicate thing, easily addled by trauma and heat. It needed a gentle hand to guide it back somewhere safe.

The Guru put his hand back in place, muttering something strained. _“His mind is stubborn. Even in this state, he fights back.”_

He wouldn’t have expected anything less from Cooper. It was impossible to tell from a glance what state of mind he had to be in, but, hesitantly, he stepped closer.

“Please. Allow me to try and assist.”

_“...If you wish.”_ The koala picked up his staff and hopped off the chair. 

“Dad…?”

“Hush, now.” The man’s voice dropped into a whisper. “Your father is busy. He will be back soon. But I can take care of you for now.”

He couldn’t tell if it had any real meaning to him. Cooper couldn’t look directly at him, instead swiveling his head around and staring empty-eyed at the wooden ceiling. Hopefully, if he really was as disoriented as he looked, he wouldn’t remember the pain.

Cooper was an adult, if not by choice than by necessity. Yet he still couldn’t see him as anything but a child. Up close, he was almost astoundingly fragile, with twiggish limbs and a slight presence that made him well-suited for thieving work but so worryingly breakable for anything else, even without the various patches and bandages currently binding his limbs. Perhaps it was something that being a father did to him- without really trying, he noticed he’d taken on an oddly paternal role towards the rest of the gang, keeping an eye on them to ensure they weren’t being too reckless. But Cooper in particular was frustratingly paradoxical, and the current situation wasn’t making it any easier.

“Mnhh- dad-”

“Shh…” He reached out to brush sweat-soaked fur out of bleary eyes and reaffix the corner of a loose bandage back into place on his cheek. That finally got a real response out of Cooper, as he leaned into his touch. He cuddled up to a tree-trunk arm, nuzzling the fur of his hand in a delirious effort to find warmth. The Panda King tried not to think of the fact that the last time he could remember having his hands so close to the young raccoon was when they were wreathed in fire and attempting to scorch his body to a crisp.

“Hush.” He said again, to quiet another soft groan of pain. “You are safe. I will not let anything happen to you. Just rest. Rest and let your wounds heal.”

He could feel the Guru still watching him from behind. It wasn’t a surprise to see that violet haze begin circling again. It blurred his own thoughts just slightly as it brushed past, but he was still aware enough to feel taut, tense muscles loosen against him.

_“...his mind is at ease. I cannot say for certain what state he will be in when he wakes up, but for the time being, he has allowed me into his mind.”_

“I thank you, Guru.” The Panda King bowed. “And I’m sure if Cooper were conscious, he would say the same.”

_“And I, you. He is remarkably stubborn, I don’t normally have such trouble.”_

“Hey, Guru, I just came by to check-”

The small skid of chair wheels made the floor underneath creak. When he looked up, Bentley looked back at him with an expression of masked unease. 

“Oh. You, uh- is everything...alright?”

“Yes, of course. He was merely restless, and I did my best to calm him.” He paused. “Why do you fear me? I mean no harm.”

“No- no, no, I know.” The turtle still looked unsure. “It’s just...y’know, Murray and I have known him since we were little kids, and we’ve _never_ had something this bad happen. I-I just don’t know how to deal with it. I’m trying to keep busy so I don’t think about it, but…”

“-But he’s a dear friend, and it’s difficult to not feel concern for his well-being.”

“Yeah, that’s just it.” That seemed to get him at least a sliver calmer. “Listen, I’m sorry to ask this, but Murray’s right outside, he wanted to see Sly and there’s only so much room in here-”

“Of course. I understand.” Offering one final, gentle stroke to the cheek, the Panda King walked towards the door and slipped back out through the tight entrance.

“Panda King!?” Murray recoiled as soon as he ducked back out of the doorway. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m a father.” He said, slinging his firework pack back into place on his shoulders and leaving the room behind. “I was simply doing my duty.”

**Author's Note:**

> /Panda King voice "oh my god I'm surrounded by maladjusted twentysomethings and the only sane person here is the koala what have I gotten myself into"


End file.
